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Shahjahanabad

Historic core in Delhi, India

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Old Delhi, or Shahjahanabad, rose as the capital of the Mughals for most of the empire's history, right from the rise and decline and demise of the empire. The major landmark monuments built during the Mughal era are the Red Fort, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Jama Masjid, and the Sri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir. After the start of British colonialism, the St. James' Church and the Lawrence Institute of Educational and Cultural Affairs, later known as Delhi Town Hall were built in the 19th century. Today it serves as the symbolic heart of metropolitan Delhi and is renowned for its bustling bazaars, restaurants, street food, shopping locations, and its Mughal Indo-Persian and mixed native architecture with some touch of British influence. Only a few havelis are left and maintained.

Upon the 2012 trifurcation of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Shahjahanabad was administered by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation,; however, in May 2022, Shahjahanabad was placed in the ambit of the reunified Municipal Corporation of Delhi. The Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation (SRDC) is the primary state agency responsible for the rejuvenation, conservation, development, and redevelopment of Shahjahanabad.

History

Delhi Sultanate era and beginning of the Mughal era

The site of Shahjahanabad is north of earlier settlements of Delhi. Its southern part overlaps with some of the area that was previously settled by the Tughlaqs in the 14th century when it was the seat of the Delhi Sultanate. The sultanates ruled from Delhi between 1206 and 1526, when the last was replaced by the Mughal dynasty. The five dynasties were the Mamluk dynasty (1206–90), the Khalji dynasty (1290–1320), the Tughlaq dynasty (1320–1414), the Sayyid dynasty (1414–51) and Lodi dynasty (1451–1526). For a period from 1538/1540 until 1555, the Mughals lost control over their empire under Humayun, and the Sur dynasty ruled swathes of India until the Mughals retook control of India, lastly defeating them and finally establishing firm control and stability over their empire.

Mughal era

Delhi remained an important place for the Mughals, who built palaces and forts. Most importantly, Shah Jahan ordered his famous chief architect Ustad Ahmad Lahori to build the walled city between 1638 and 1649, containing the Lal Qila and the Chandni Chowk. Delhi was one of the original twelve subahs (imperial Mughal provinces), renamed Shahjahanabad in 1648, bordering Awadh, Agra, Ajmer, Multan and Lahore subahs. Daryaganj had the original cantonment of Delhi, after 1803, where a native regiment of Delhi garrison was stationed, which was later shifted to the Ridge area. East of Daryaganj was Raj Ghat gate of the walled city, opening at Raj Ghat on the Yamuna River. The inaugural wholesale market of Old Delhi opened as the hardware market in Chawri Bazaar in 1840, the succeeding wholesale market was that of dry fruits, spices and herbs at Khari Baoli, opening in 1850. The Phool Mandi (Flower Market) of Daryaganj was established in 1869, and, to this day, despite serving a small geographical area, it is of great importance due to a dense population.

Colonial era

After the fall of the Mughal Empire post 1857 revolt, the British Raj shifted the capital of British controlled territories in India to a less volatile city, Calcutta in Bengal, where it remained until 1911. After the announcement of the change, the British developed Lutyens' Delhi (in modern New Delhi) just south-west of Shahjahanabad. At this point, the older city started being called Old Delhi, as New Delhi became the seat of a national government. It was formally inaugurated as such in 1931.

1876 description

In 1876, Carr Stephen described the city as follows:

Of the two streets described by Bernier, the longer extended from the Lahore Gate of the city to the Lahore Gate of the citadel, and the other from the Delhi Gate of the city to the Lahore Gate of the fort. Both these streets were divided into several sections, each of which was known by a different name. The section between the Lahore Gate of the fort and the entrance of the street called the Dariba, known as the Khání Darwázah, was called the Urdi or the Military Bazaar; owing, very probably, to the circumstance of a portion of the local garrison having been once quartered about the place. Between the Khúní Darwázah and the present Kotwálí, or the Head Police Station of the city, the street has the name of Phúl ká Mandí or the flower market. The houses in front of the Kotwálí were built, at a short distance from the line of the rest of the houses in the street, to form a square. Between the Kotwálí and the gate known as the Taráiah, was the Jowhri or the Jewellers' Bazaar; between the Taráiah and the neighborhood known as Asharfí ká Katrá, was, par excellence, the Chándní Chauk. There was a tank in the center of the Chauk the site of which is now occupied by the Municipal Clock Tower, and beyond this to the Fatehpúrí Masjid was the Fatehpúrí Bazaar. The houses around Chándní Chauk were of the same height, and were ornamented with arched doors and painted verandahs. To the north and south of the square there were two gate-ways, the former leading to the Sarái of Jahánárá Begam, and the latter to one of the most thickly populated quarters of the city. Round the tank the ground was covered with vegetable, fruit and sweetmeat stalls. In the course of time the whole of this long street came to be known as the Chandni Chauk. This grand street was laid out by Jahánárá Begam, daughter of Sháh Jahán, in the year 1600 A. D., and several ears later she built a garden and sarái on it. From the Lahore Gate of the fort to the end of the Chandni Chauk the street was about 40 yards [37 m] wide and 1,520 yards [1,390 m] long. Through the centre of this street ran the canal of 'Alí Mardán, shaded on both sides by trees. On the eastern end of the Chándni Chauk stands the Lahore Gate of the Fort, and on the opposite end the handsome mosque of Fatehpúrí Begam.

The clock tower no longer exists, although the location is still called Ghantaghar. The sarai of Jahanara Begum has been replaced by the city town hall. The kotwal is now adjacent to Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib.

The Old Delhi Railway Station, was designed in the architectural style of the nearby Red Fort, which was constructed during the administration of the British colonial government and opened in 1903.

The British also built the State Bank of India branch building in Chandni Chowk as well as the St. James' Church, the St. Stephen's Church and Old St. Stephen's College now one of the important offices of the Election Commission of India of Delhi near Kashmere Gate, leaving an influence of European architecture and Indo-Saracenic architecture as well in the historical place.

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